Washing machine



Jan. 23, 1934.

G. P. ANSTISS WASHING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1928 www Jan.- 23, 1934. G, P ANSTISS 1,944,679

WASHING MACHINE G. P. ANsTlss 1,944,679

WASHING MACHINE Jan. 23, 1934.v

Filed May 26, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 fr e7 d' l '5y 50' Fig. 1 is a plan view of a washing machine conend of the machine. The upper run of the con..

Patented Jen. 23, A1934 y y 1,944,679

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WASHING MACHINE George P. Anstiss, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to G. S. Blakeslee & Co., Cicero, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application May 26, 1928. Serial No. 280,673 4 Claims. (Cl. 141-41) This invention relates to Washing machines, and of the machine taken longitudinally thereof from more particularly to a machine for washing castthe entrance end; ings, punchings, and other articles of like nature. Fig. 4 is la transverse' vertical sectional View of In foundries and machine shops, and similar the machine taken through the washing portion 5 establishments, it is desirable that castings, thereof; 60

' punchings and other articles of likeA nature be Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail of the web struceffectively cleaned to remove scales, grease and ture of the upper or hold down conveyor. other foreign materials therefrom so as to be in The machine includes a casing 1 suitably conproper condition to be subjected to further opstructed of sheet metal and mounted upon superations in the completion of the articles to be porting members or legs 2. This casing is of clon- 65 produced. There is a demand for a machine cagated rectangular shape in plan and is of recpable ofA eiectively cleaning articles of the types tangular cross-section. The lower portion of the referred to by Washing the scale and grease and casing is provided with upwardly extendingy end other foreign materials therefrom, but it has been walls 3 from'the upper edges of which extend up-` found to be very difficult to devise such a machine Wardly and outwardly inclined drain plates 4 the 70 due to the great diversity in shape, size, and outer portions of which are turned upwardly to weight of the variousI articles to be Washed. form anges 5 Secured t0 angle bars l6 extending A further diculty which has been encountered between the end legs 2 and secured thereto. The is that the articles to be washed must be subjected lower portion of the casing is of trough-like conto relatively large sprays or streams of washing struction and is divided by a partition Vmember 75 solution under comparativelyvhigh pressure so as '7 extending transversely thereof, midway between to assure proper cleansing thereof, and this nethe en d walls 3, into two tanks 8 and 9. These cessitates that such articles must be effectively tanks, which may be termed the collecting tanks, held during the washing operation. My invencommunicate at their inner ends with receiving tion relates primarily to means for subjecting the compartments or tanks 10 and 11, respectively, '80 articles to be washed to a suitable washing spray, of a receiving tank structure 12 disposed at one and to means for holding the articles during Washside of casing 1 centrally thereof. ing thereof, the latter means being adapted to The receiving tank structure 12 is divided by a accommodate articles of various shapesand sizes. central partition 1'3 and'preferably has suitable One of the main objectsof my invention is to screens 14 suitably supported therein and dis- 85 provide a washing machine which will effectively vposed between the collecting tanks and the rewash castings, punchings, and various other arfeiving tanks or compartments. ticles of a diversity of forms and size, this machine Angle guide rails 15 are` disposed beneath casbeing provided with means for holding the aring 1 longitudinally thereof, these rails being ticles during washing thereof and the holding supported upon angle bars 16 connecting certain 90 means being readily flexible to conform to the of the legs 2. The rails 15 support and guide the shape lof the articles held thereby. A further ob- I lower run of a main endless conveyor. 17 which ject is to provide simple and efficient holding comprises side chains 18 which are connectedl means, such means being effective for holding by CIOSS I'OdS 19. The rOdS 1'9 pas through the articles of insufficient weight to resist the force eI 1dS 0f links 20 and through spacmgcollars 21 95 of the spray7 streams striking such articles, the dlSDOSed between the ends of the pairs' of hnks.

holding means including a readily eXiblemember This prfvdes a ,cqlveyor constfuction which has which -is moved into inoperative position when the desired flexibility and yet 1s capable of supporting heavy-loads. washing relatively large and heavy articles, such Side chains 18 of the conveyor pass about drive 100 3 as large castings so as to facilitate .passage of sprocket wheels 22 secured on a drive shaft 23 such argeles Into and through 'Phe machine Fur mounted in suitable bracketsat the delivery end therpbjects and ,advantages Wm appear from the of the machine. The side chains also pass about detalled descrp-tlon' idler sprocket wheels'22a secured upon a shaft In the drawmgsl 24 supported in suitable brackets 25 at mev met 'structed in accordance Withmy invention, partly Veyor, which is under tension during operation of broken away; the machine, travels through the casing 1 from Fig- 2 iS a Side View 0f the machine; the inlet to the outlet end thereof. Angle guide Fig 3 is av fragmentary vertical sectional view rails 26 are suitably mounted within the casing 1 no and support theupper run of the conveyor. This renders it possible to support heavy loads upon vthe upper run of the conveyor during travel thereof through the casing. The conveyor is driven by means of an electric motor 27 of suitable type mounted upon a base 28 above the .l casing at the outlet end thereof.

This motor has driving connection, through al suitable speed4 reducing transmission 29, with a sprocket pinion 30 aboutwhich passes a sprocket chain 3l, this chain also passing about a drive sprocket 32 secured on'the drive shaft 23. The sprocket 30 is loose upon its shaft 33 and has associated-therewith suitable clutch means for clutching the sprocket to and declutching it from shaft 33. The clutch is controlled by a suitable clutch lever 34 whereby the lower main conveyor can be thrown into and out of operation at will.

The casing 1 is open at each end above the upper run of the main conveyor to permit the arv ticles to be washed to readily pass into and out of the casing. 'Shafts 35 are rotatably mounted through casing 1 transversely thereof adjacent each end and the top wall of the casing. Sprocket wheels 36 are secured upon these shafts and receive side chains 37 of an upper hold down conveyor which comprises cross rods 38 which are suitably spaced apart and are inserted through the meshes of a web structure 39. The end portions of these rods are slightly offset (Fig. 4) and are suitably secured to certain of the links of the yside chains. The mesh structure 3 9 is preferably formed of wire suitably woven to provide a plurality of interengaging meshes (Fig. 5) which are loosely connected but are not secured together, in that such meshes are free for relative movement.

This provides 'an open and easily flexible structure which will readily adapt itself to diereritly shaped objects supported upon the upper run of the lower main conveyor.

Angle guide rails 76 are suitably supported in casing 1 and serve to support and guide the up-` per run of the upper conveyor. Thelower run of this conveyor is guided and supported by guide rails 40 to which are pivotall'y secured, at 4l, the lower ends of links 41a of approximately hook shape. The upper ends of these links` are piv- `otally secured at 42 to arms 43 secured on shafts 44 suitably mounted on casing 1 transversely thereof and between the runsof the upper conveyor. The shafts 44 are mounted adjacent each end and at the center of casing land are connected in a suitable manner for simultaneous and similar operation. I have shown these shafts as interconnected by suitable sprocket wheels 45 and chains 46 passing about the same. An operating lever 47 is secured upon one of the shafts 44 so that by turning this lever in proper direction the rails 39, and, consequently, ,the lower,

run of the upper conveyor can be raised orlowered as desired.' I preferably providea quadrant 48 adjacent the lever 47, this lever being provided with a detent element for cooperating with the quadrant to secure lthe lever in adjustment in a known manner. This provides simple vand efficient means whereby the lower run. of the upper conveyor can beadjusted toward or away suitable or preferred manner.

tive position is prevented even though the detentl ofthe lever should become disengaged from its associated quadrant. This provides simple and efficient means for preventing casual movement of the lower run of the hold down conveyor into operative position when the machine is being used for washing articles with which it is not desired to use the hold down conveyor.

The upper conveyor may be driven in any For this purpose I have shown a sprocket wheel 49 secured on the idler sprocket shaft 24 and connected by a sprocket chain 50 to a sprocket wheel 51 loosely mounted upon a stub shaft 52 mounted in a bracket 53 which issuitably secured to one of the lower run of the upper conveyor travels' through the casing in the samev direction as ythe upper run of the lower conveyor. In the machine illustrated, the sprockets and the gears for 'driving the upper conveyor are so proportioned that this conveyor is driven at the same speed as the lower conveyor.

This is not, however, essential and in some' cases the conveyors may be driven at dierent speeds as,l for instance,-where it is desired to impart a rolling motion to the articles being washed. In fact, it is not essential that the upper` conveyor be always driven or that, when driven, it travels in the same direction as Athe v lower conveyor. I do not`therefore, limit my invention to a'machine in which the upper conveyor is driven in the manner illustrated and described,

though this is the more common and, usually, the

preferred form of the machine;

Since the drive of the upper conveyor is from the entrance end of the machine, the upper run of this conveyor is under tension during drive thereof and the lower run is slack. When the guide rails 39 are in lowered position, the lower run of the hold down conveyor, which is slack, rests upon the articles passing through the machine. In Fig. 3 I have shown two punchings in the form of plates 57 of sheetmetal which are passing through the machine from left to right as considered in this figure'. These plates are lheld between the upper run of the. lower con- 'veyor and the lower' run of the upper conveyor,

which rests upon'th'e plates, so as to be confined thereby and held against displacement from between the conveyors. plates 57, articles of irregular contour will be similarly vheld by the hold down conveyor which, due to its flexibility, can readilyconform to the contours of articles of various shapes. These two conveyors coact to hold articles whichjare passed through the machine during washing and rinsing of such articles.

For washing the articles I provide headers 58 which extend along one side of casing 1 above the washing solution collecting tank8. The lower header 58 is disposed beneath and adjacent to the upper run 'of the lower conveyor, and the While I have shown'flatupper header is disposed between the runs of thel upper conveyor. A plurality of spray 4pipes 59 extend from each header, these pipes being disposed transversely of the casing; Each pipe is provided'with a plurality of spray nozzles 60, spaced apart longitudinally thereof and each provided with a suitable tip 61 which is adjustable, this tip being secured in'adjustment by means of a screw 62. The nozzles of the upper pipes are disposed to direct the spray streams downwardly on tothe upper surface of the articles to be washed so as to impinge upon the same at various angles, and the tips of the nozzles of the lower pipes are directed to project. the spray streams againstthe under face of the articles at diierent angles thereto. The particular construction of the spray nozzle is disclosed in detail in my copending application for washing machine, Serial No. 56,297, filed September 14, 1925, which has matured into Patent No. 1,730,348, granted October 8, 1929, and need not be illustrated nor described in detail herein. A similar arrangement of headers and spray pipes is provided above the tank y9.

Washing solution is supplied under pressure to the headers 58 by means of centrifugal pump 63 of suitable type having its inlet connected by a pipe 64 to the receiving tank 10, the outlet of this pump being connected by a pipe 65 to the head-A ers. Pump 63 is driven by an electric motor 66 of suitable type mounted upon a suitable base 67.

Rinsing water lis similarly supplied from tank 11 to the headers for the rinsing pipes, by means of a pump 68 driven by a motor 69 and connected to tank 11 and the rinsing pipe headers by an intake pipe 7() and an outlet pipe 71, respectively.

In the operation of the machine, a suitable washing solution is placed in the tank 8 and a suitable rinsing solution, or water, is placed in tank 9. The articles entering the machine first pass over the compartment 8 and are subjected to the washing sprays from above and below, the open work construction of the two conveyors facilitating thorough washing of the articles. The articles then pass Aover the rinsing tanks Where they are subjected to the-rinsing sprays from above and below so as to thoroughly fremove the washing solution, after which the articles are discharged from the machine. The washing liquid and the rinsingliquid are collected bythe tanks 8 and 9 and return therefrom to the tanks l0 and 11, respectively, from which the liquids are withdrawn by the pumps and supplied under pressure to the spray pipes in the manner de,

scribed. Each ofthe tanks is provided with a= suitable drain pipe 72 opening through the bottom of the tanks 8iand 9, respectively, such pipe having a suitable drain valve 73. This provides means whereby the liquid can be drained from the tanks when required as, when it is desired to renew the liquidin either tank, and I also preferably provide the tanks 10 and 1l with suitable overflow pipes '74..

The'upper hold down conveyor is intended to cooperate with the upper run of the' lower main conveyor'to hold articles passing through the machine so as to prevent such articles from being moved upon the lower conveyor by the spray streams which should be discharged with appreciable force against the articles with a view to thoroughly -washing the same. It is not necessary, however, when washing heavy articles, such as heavy castings, to use the hold down conveyor since such articles are of sufficient weight to assure against their being moved by force of impact of the spray streams. Under such conditions, the guide rails 39 are raised into full inoperative position, thus raising the lower run of the hold down conveyor into full inoperative position, as previouslydescribed. When washing relatively light articles of appreciable height, the

rails 39 may be raised into an intermediate position, "in the manner described previously, so as to permit passage of such articles through the machine,l the height at which the lower run of the hold down conveyor is adjusted being such that it will bear upon the articles and hold them against movement upon the upper run of the lower conveyor during the washing and rinsing operations. The machine is thus adapted for effectively holding relativelylight articles of various shapes and sizes during washing and rinsing thereof, and when heavy articles are being passed through the machine the hold down conveyor is moved out of operation. This conveyor, when not in use, is thrown out of operation by means of the clutch lever 54.

As above indicated, and as will be understood by those skilled in the art, changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts of the invention without departing from the eld and scope of the same, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, in this application in which the preferred form only of my invention is dis- 105 closed. I

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character described, a casing, upper and lower endless conveyors operating in the casing, the upper conveyor being readily flexible and having its lower run sufficiently slack to rest upon articles supported upon the upper run of the lower conveyor, when said lower run of the upper conveyor is lowered into operative position, guide members extending beneath the lateral portions of the lower run of the upper conveyor, means for raising and lowering said guide members for moving the lower run of said upper conveyor out of and into operative position, and means for projecting liquid onto said articles.

2. In a machine of the character described, a casing, upper and lower endless conveyors operating in the casing, the upper conveyor being exible and having its lower run suiiiciently slack to be disposed in proximity to the' upper run of .the lower conveyor, when said lower run is lowered into operative position, guide members extending beneath the lateral portions of the lower run of the upper conveyor, shafts extending transversely of thecasing between the runs of the upper conveyor, arms secured to said shafts, links connecting the arms to the guide members, means for turning the shafts for raising and lowering the guide members, said links being of substantially hook shape and the connections between the links and the armsybeing disposed beyond' dead center position relative to the shafts when said guide members are in full raised position whereby the guide 'members Aare held against 140 casual lowering thereof, and means for projecting liquid onto articles coniined between the two 3. In a machine ofthe character described, a lower conveyor, a flexible upper conveyor, supporting and drive members atfthe ends ofthe upper conveyor, vthe upper 'conveyor -passing about said members and the lower yrun -of said upper conveyor being free'and slack between the supporting and drive members for independent 15a y upward movement, guide rails for s'aid lower run of said upper conveyor, means for adjusting the position of said guide rails vertically, the two conveyors being endless and coacting to confineA articles between the adjacentruns thereof vand one of the conveyors being of open work construction, and means for projecting washing solution.-

through the open werk conveyor onto the articles; 4. In a machine of the character described, a lower endless conveyor, an upper endless con- Veyor, guide rails beneath the sides of `the lower run of the upper conveyor, means for raising and Flowering the rails, the lower run of the upper conveyor being disposed in proximity to the upper run of the lower conveyor when the rails are lowered and cooperating therewith to confine l 

